News

Can Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy Help Prevent Autism and Schizophrenia?

Biology Professor Jessica MacDonald has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate maternal folic acid’s role in promoting healthy brain development.

The neocortex, or “thinking brain,” accounts for over 75% of the brain’s total volume and plays a critical role in humans’ decision making, processing of sensory information, and formation and retrieval of memories. Uniquely human traits such as advanced social behavior and creativity are made possible thanks to the neocortex.

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The Building Blocks of Future Smart Materials

How do cells take the shape they do and perform their functions? The enzymes and molecules that make them up are not themselves living—and yet they are able to adapt to their environment and circumstances, come together and interact, and ultimately, create life. How exactly all of that happens involves some very big questions, the answers to which will be crucial in paving the way for new biotechnologies and other advancements.

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BioInspired Graduate Student Selected as 2024 Rostker Dissertation Fund Fellow

Getting the necessary funding to conduct quality research is among the myriad of challenges when working towards a doctoral degree. Syracuse University students engaged in research to support the military-connected community have found that challenge eased by the generosity of Bernard Rostker G’66, G’70, and Louise Rostker G’68 through the Forever Orange Campaign.

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Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Mary Beth Monroe Receives 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science

Mary Beth Monroe in lab with studentsMary Beth Monroe, an associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering at the Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected to receive the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special (RFS) Award in Science.

The RFS Awards in Science recognize contributions and dedication to advancing scientific knowledge, and outstanding peer-reviewed research by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM. The anthology of award winners is available digitally on the Rosalind Franklin Society website and in print.

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Innovative sepsis treatment: Juntao Luo, PhD, secures over $2 mil from NIGMS to develop nanotechnology-based therapeutic for life-threatening condition

Continuing his tireless efforts to find an effective treatment for severe sepsis, Juntao Luo, PhD will be developing an innovative treatment for the condition that has a mortality rate of 30-40%. With a newly awarded over $2 million fund from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), he’ll spend the next five years turning his nanotechnology into a bioactive therapeutic that could help prevent sepsis deaths, and potentially treat a wide range of inflammatory diseases.  Continue Reading

Unlocking Proteins’ Potential

Davoud Mozhdehi and Faeze Mousazadeh in lab with Kavindu Kolamunna.
Professor Davoud Mozhdehi (right) discusses research with chemistry doctoral student Faeze Mousazadeh. Both Mousazadeh and chemistry doctoral student Kavindu Kolamunna (left) are members of Mozhdehi’s research lab team.

Syracuse University researcher is pioneering new methods of protein engineering.

Davoud Mozhdehi, associate professor of chemistry in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, likes to tinker with proteins. Through protein engineering, he believes there’s much to discover about the inner workings of lipidated proteins, which are equipped with oil-like appendages (lipids) that interact with cell membranes and are vital to cell functions like signaling and trafficking. “We’re trying to develop platforms to facilitate attaching lipids to proteins and to use the unique properties of lipids to tune the properties of proteins for various applications,” he says.

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